Camille Cumlajee: Candidate for Science and Engineering Faculty Rep

By Julie Capkova

As the whole campus prepares to vote in the upcoming student elections, The Print has interviewed a number of candidates standing for representative and executive positions. All candidates were invited to participate. Those who did not respond are not included. Other candidates are available and students can see all of them on qmsu.org/elections. Anything mentioned in the text reflects the candidates’ opinions, not The Print’s. The length of the interviews does not imply preferences for a candidate, but instead ensures that we are factually reporting on their interviews. 

Camille Cumlajee, running for the Science and Engineering Representative position, says she wants to focus on a better organisation when it comes to administrative issues. She says there are many concerns passed around, with many of them not getting a result and ‘getting buried in other requests.’ She continues by saying that ‘it would be nice to actually take part in that and be interactive with it.’ 

Camille raises four main issues in her campaign that she would like to focus on. These include administrative issues, such as getting the attendance codes in classes, the lack of opportunities and projects with the SE department, timetable gaps, and exam feedback. One specific proposal Camille highlighted is setting up a Google Form system for better communication. ‘If I do get in, I’ll set up a Google Form system, where there will be different subsections for different issues where students can opt in for feedback and follow ups.’ She believes this would improve communication and help students raise their concerns. She also states that this will be one of the first things she will focus on, if elected. 

When it comes specifically to the Science and Engineering department, Camille would like to provide more opportunities driven by student demand. ‘By gathering feedback, collaborating with careers teams, and talking to faculty who have external connections, hopefully I can open up more meaningful projects and experiences.’ She further highlights the issues when it comes to collaboration and cooperation at QMUL. While ‘things are communicated, they are not always followed up on 100 per cent,’ she says and elaborates by saying that she would take a more proactive approach. 

While there are several points she would like to focus on to improve students’ experience at QMUL she believes that the biggest issue students face are the ‘general admin issues on the course.’ These, according to her include waiting times for exam results, unfocused feedback or attendance codes. She plans on raising these issues in meetings with the faculty and believes that ‘less prominent admin issues’ at the end of her term as SE Faculty Rep would be a great success. 

When asked what makes her the best option for this role, Camille replied, ‘I can't really speak for other candidates, but personally I'd say I am really proactive and I am really focused on follow up.’ She then continues by saying that when it comes to the representation of the whole student body, she wants to focus on always finding the middle ground. ‘Given on representing everyone, I do not want to prioritise certain groups,’ she says. 

Camille concludes by saying that, when it comes to the student body, ‘I think we are all focused on the same issues. The main challenge is ensuring that the ideas we discuss are followed through,’ and again refers to administrative issues, attendance codes, timetable gaps, and feedback as the main points of her campaign. She then closes off by adding ‘I really want to focus on making sure things don’t just get raised, but are properly followed up.’

Voting runs from 23 to 26 March 2026.